Revenge or Recreation?

If Christians are supposed to leave vengeance up to God and not take revenge for themselves, what do you suppose Satan will be trying to get us to focus on? He will be repeatedly trying to draw our attention toward things that are not fair, to things that make us angry and incensed, to things that are not just tragic but that are intentionally hurtful in order to tempt us to desire any form of revenge. And in doing so we feel like we are standing up for justice and defending the name of God.

But many of those forms of revenge may not look like a desire for revenge on the surface. They may likely take on much more acceptable appearances and may even seem very righteous. Or, for those who are not much into religion, they will simply feel like evening the score, balancing the sheets, leveling the playing field, setting things straight.

Most everyone has an innate sense of fairness and the desire for relationships to be harmonious. We believe we want peace in this world and even Paul here in Romans 12 urges us to pursue peace with all men as much as possible. That is one of the biggest motivations pushing people to want to go to heaven. I suspect that the majority of people planning to live in heaven for eternity are more motivated by their desire to escape the unfairness and disharmony of this earth than they are in living in close intimacy with their loving Savior and their Heavenly Daddy. Sadly, much of our discussions and teachings about the coming Kingdom of Heaven revolve almost exclusively around this theme of getting away from others we do not like. We talk about being prisoners of hope. (note 1 Cor. 13:13) Some even carry it so far as to dwell on vivid imaginings of how their enemies are going to suffer unspeakable agonies that will never end under the supervision of an offended God. And somehow this is believed to be an attraction for people to accept “salvation” and trust in God to be “saved”.

But in reality what I see going on at the heart level is a subtle promotion of our flesh's desire for revenge and our belief that God harbors very similar feelings that we possess against His “enemies”. When we indulge in this type of thinking we are simply dressing up hatred in very religious-looking clothes and circulating it as representative of how God feels about us. What a travesty – what an abortion of truth – what diabolical deception distorting the perfect beauty of the heart of God.

But there are many variations of this theme that likely affect every one of us. This subtle desire for revenge infiltrates many more of our beliefs and doctrines than we may ever have realized. If we would be willing to humble ourselves and listen to the quiet convicting voice of the gentle Spirit of Jesus who taught us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us, we will begin to become aware of a God who practices what He preaches. But there is a great deal of un-learning to do in our entrenched notions of a God who has more desire to “get even” with sinners than the real truth about Him as One who is unfailing kindness, compassion and love.

That does not mean there will not be very real and immense pain, torture and terrible consequences for sinning against God. The Bible is clear that in the presence of God, the angels and the Lamb of God, the lost are going to suffer unspeakable pain. But the tragic mistake is to assume that the pain is deliberately inflicted by the God in whose presence this takes place. It is an assumption that has been firmly in place since the beginning of sin, but it is still a diabolical lie nonetheless.

But what about more practical, day-to-day events that cause me to be diverted and deceived into desiring revenge without realizing it? How am I compromised without knowing it in many seemingly mundane ways?

This is something I have not really thought about or paid attention to up to this point very much. It only came more clearly to my attention just a few minutes ago from meditations on the verses I am dwelling on right now and I realize it is something that I need to explore much more thoroughly and keep in the background of my mind throughout the day. But I can think of some things right off that cause me to have intense reactions that suspiciously look very much like revenge in righteous clothing.

I know that the effect of listening to much news about vicious attacks against helpless people cause me, and most others, to feel riled up inside setting off secret imaginings of what ought to be done to those perpetrators of evil. But this is really a desire for revenge, even if it is not revenge directly related to anything done against me personally. In fact, I have begun to notice quite clearly that there are certain commercial news organizations that seem to make it their primary intent to arouse such feelings in their viewers as a matter of policy. They have discovered that people's desire for revenge can be exploited and converted into profits, so their carefully massage every story that they present to maximize the emotional reactions in their listeners to keep them baited for the next titillating revelation of injustice.

But one of the effects of exposure to this constant barrage of scandals and tragedies is the hardening of my heart and the dulling of my sensitivities to the things of the Spirit. I have noticed very distinctly that after being exposed and emotionally exercised by watching, for instance, Fox News for very long that I have a much more difficult time tuning in to the sweet, quiet voice of the Spirit. It dampens my appetite for enjoying the Word and it jades my sensitivities and arouses my lower passions. I feel more anger, resentment, bitterness and cynicism. I feel myself becoming someone I do not want to be but seemingly helpless to stop it. And all of this is urged on by the compelling argument that for some reason I need to know what is going on, I must be aware of dangers and injustices so that somehow I can turn things around or help set things straight.

These seem like very convincing arguments for becoming absorbed in all sorts of addictions to news, to conspiracy theories, to entertainment shows that provide their own versions of this theme, or other such related gossip activities. These things create venues for discussions with others, cultivate common values and bonding opportunities. But the effect on my heart is to draw me away from the emerging light that has been slowly dawning in my soul and to suck me back into the negative, self-focused, fear-based, lifestyle that has marked most of my experience up to this point.

I feel an increasing urgency by another Spirit warning me that it is dangerous to mix the common and the holy and that soon it will have tragic results for those who try to have what appears to be a “balanced life” of the religious and the secular. As we draw close to the end of this great universal war I sense that those who are following the faint beat of the Drummer from heaven will find themselves completely at odds with the heavy beat so familiar in this world and will be increasingly viewed as fanatical, unrealistic and hopelessly out of touch with reality.

This is creating a growing tension within my soul that is intensifying as time goes on. I find myself quietly contemplating choices that disturb and threaten the familiar ways of life and relationships for me. I sense a polarization taking place that makes me very uncomfortable, but then realize that following Jesus will always bring increasing discomfort and will challenge me to make more and more difficult choices putting me more at odds with the world around me. But these uncomfortable choices are not so religious looking as I was taught they would be in my upbringing, for they are much more personal in nature putting me at odds with the people closest to me. Then I have to keep going back to God asking for perspective on these tensions and conflicts with others that create increasing disharmony with them. I need to grow and mature in love for them with the love that God has for them.

This makes me more aware of my deep lack of understanding what real love is and how it works, feels and acts. It is very clear I cannot produce love myself and I make that very plain to God all the time. I can have very strong feelings of attraction, sympathy, and concern for others at times. But I am appalled sometimes at my inner callousness and emptiness when it comes to selfless love and genuine interest in others and I plead with God to fill me with real love so I will represent Him better. But then I realize that very possibly my inward container needed for receiving His love is so filled with disguised desires for revenge that there is little room for filling it with love. Besides, love and revenge simply cannot dwell in the same container – they are incompatible.

This is what I am starting to see in these verses here at the end of Romans 12. This is exposing the incompatibility of the spirit that desires revenge on those who do evil and the spirit that empowers me to be able to love my enemies – and God's enemies – and to heap coals of God's kind of fire upon their heads by treating them with His kindness and looking to meet their real needs. This is the real kind of revenge that God always engages in and that represents His feelings and character truthfully. And if I am to not bear false witness, if I am called to be a truthful witness in the trial of God, then I have to allow the true Spirit of God to remove all the variations and shades of bitterness and all desires for revenge from my heart to make room for love to flow through me.

As with all the other commands of God that are simply descriptions of who He is, I find this hopelessly impossible to accomplish. All I can do is throw up my hands in despair and discover that throwing up my hands is the perfect way to worship effectively at such a time. The only hope for my hopeless condition is for God to accomplish in my heart the very things that I see and concede are impossible for me to do.

I am so hard-wired to want revenge, to thrive on reports of evil, to be cynical and selfish that I can never become the man of God, the kind father, the humble, loving husband and friend that I must become to ever be able to synchronize with all those who will inhabit paradise. I am convicted that I am not the kind of person ready to live in the continual burning. (see Isaiah 33:14-17) I must have the transformation described in Romans 12:2 or there is certainly no hope for me. I must have the supernatural encounter with a supernatural Savior or there is no chance that I can figure it all out. I want far more than a knowledge of true facts, as important and useful as that might be. I crave a new heart that is not prewired with a bent to selfishness. I desperately need a new spirit that is focused on blessing others instead of demanding fairness with a tinge of revenge. I need God to fully swallow me up and re-create me back into His image. I need the kiss of God on my face like that which brought Adam to life there on the riverbank in Eden. God, do it again!

(next in series)

Righteous Indignation?

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)

Righteous indignation. Have you ever heard of that? Have you ever indulged in it? Do you use it as an excuse to vent your feelings in the name of “standing up for the right”? It is something that often emerges whenever we hear news reports of violence or injustice, especially when done in the name of religion.

I am too familiar with this term from my own experience and the effects it can have on people. But at the same time, while I may avoid using the term myself, I know that the internal reasoning used for this phrase is something I engage in far too often, though many times at a much reduced level. In fact, I believe that most of the “edge” that I am becoming a little more aware of in my communications about various topics is the poison effecting my spirit from roots of bitterness masquerading as righteous indignation of some form or another.

Most people do not realize that righteous indignation is not a Biblical concept or even a legitimate spiritual exercise. I am aware that many religious people use stories from the life of Jesus to justify this exercise, but at the same time they fail to perceive the real spirit which motivated Jesus during those events. Our misperceptions of God's heart and the intense passionate love which shapes all His activities preclude us from understanding the true spirit needed before engaging in any kind of activity that purports to defend God's reputation. Like Moses angrily striking the rock and yelling with passion and frustration at a crowd of very stubborn and selfish rebels, we often indulge in expressions of intense emotion that are contaminated with our flesh's desire to condemn others and self-justify.

Revenge is a word so infected in our minds with the virus of sin that it is almost hopeless to recover, at least in our lives. I believe that God is telling us here that unless we are 100% submitted to and motivated by His Holy Spirit and filled with the pure, undiluted love that flows from God's heart, we are incapable of engaging in any kind of proper “revenge”. In fact, our perception of revenge is so hopelessly tainted that we are better off just leaving it in God's hands because He is the only one who can get it right. And when He does do it most of us will be shocked and maybe even feel scandalized because God's vengeance is so radically different than what we crave for from our perspective.

Vengeance or revenge is really an activity that belongs to the Holy Spirit alone. It is exclusively the Spirit's role to bring conviction to the heart and draw it toward the beauty and holiness of God. Only the Holy Spirit knows the heart condition of each person and that cannot be perceived from a human standpoint. Only the Holy Spirit is qualified to flash the right truth at the right moment onto the mind of a person being drawn toward repentance. Romans 2:4 reminds us that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. The Holy Spirit is full of that kindness, even when it brings agonizing conviction to a heart in rebellion against everything good. The Spirit does not employ force or intimidation or condemnation to draw people to Christ. That would be a betrayal of the integrity of God.

On the other hand, when Christians indulge in what they term “righteous indignation” (the term is never used in Scripture) they mingle in a counterfeit spirit in an attempt to maybe bring conviction to the hearts of others. Righteous indignation invariably involves some degree of condemnation woven into it in an attempt to intimidate others into repentance. It also often involves a subtle desire for some level of control over other people's lives. The term is usually used as a means of justification for indulging in anger that appears to be very noble because it is in reaction to circumstances that appear clearly unjust and evil. We may see children being mistreated and abused or the vulnerable being taken advantage of and we become very angry and incensed.

It is right at this point that our emotions become so intense that we often lose our capacity to think clearly. Because we become so focused on what appears to be a clear injustice we lose sight of the real condition of our own spirit and the flesh injects our hearts with a cocktail of hatred, bitterness and pride to infect what might otherwise be legitimate, godly passion. The flesh keeps the doses at such a low level that we easily ignore their presence in the moment and so we become self-deceived and believe that we are reflecting the passion and anger of God. But the Bible tells us, For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (James 1:20)

I am not claiming here at all that there is no place for strong emotion in reaction to injustice and abuse against those around us. The more we become filled with God's Spirit and come into alignment with the pure principles of God's character, the more painful it will become for us to see injustice, violence and selfishness. And the closer we come to the heart of God the more we will be filled with the intensity of His passion against sin. But at the same time, we will also become more aware that the roots that cause others to commit atrocities also have infected our own hearts and every one of us is actually capable of doing the very same things and even worse. We have not one whit more righteousness within our own hearts than the worst and vilest criminal that this world has ever witnessed, and were it not for the grace of God constantly restraining and retraining us, we would be unable to refrain from indulging our own lusts for control and power and abuse in unspeakable ways.

I know this is a very volatile subject that can quickly generate a lot of intense debate and even suspicion. But it is a fact of sin that we are all hopelessly caught from the inside in the slavery of selfishness which will always end up in revealing the character of Satan embedded our flesh. That may be largely hidden from us right now, but that is only because we do not take seriously the nature of our deadly infection and its potential for wickedness that dwells deep inside all of our hearts. Righteous indignation and our desire for revenge is one of the weakest areas of our lives where we too often allow this potential of wickedness to leak out while cloaked in the deceptive garments of “righteousness”.

Why does this text say that we should leave room for the wrath of God? Is this verse telling us that we may be potentially crowding out God's work of wrath? Here's an interesting verse that seems to parallel this text.

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him. (Proverbs 24:17-18)

That likely raises more questions than I have time to ponder right now, but I find it rather puzzling in some respects. However, it is very clear that the nature of God's wrath is so foreign to us that we really need to stay away from indulging in it ourselves, for when we indulge in revenge, bitterness or condemnation we are actually trying to displace the Holy Spirit, and that is not something that is ever safe to do. There really is no vacancy to be filled in the God-head.

The biggest problem we have with exercising God's version of wrath is made more clear in the following verse which describes the very atmosphere of His wrath. For God's wrath is largely a perception on the part of those who insist on resisting His love and His compassionate ways. The next verse makes explicitly clear that the unselfishness of God toward those considered His enemies is the very element that produces the most problem for them. It is like heaping coals of fire upon their heads.

This is a very interesting twist of an analogy that most people are unaware of today in our culture. When the other side of this is understood it can be seen that this verse may have a double meaning. I have heard it explained that this metaphor comes from the days when there was no easy way to start a fire in the home for cooking, heating and other uses. Therefore it was very important that a fire be kept burning 24/7 so that these activities could be continued for the day to day needs of the family.

But if one did happen to let their fire die out completely, one of the ways of restarting it was to take a container (hopefully insulated sufficiently) that one could carry on your head and go to a neighbor and ask for a few embers from their fire so you could start a fire in your own house again. What Paul is saying here is that a generous neighbor would not just put one or two embers into the container but from a heart full of kindness and love could heap the container high with coals of fire. Notice also that this is done for an enemy, not just for a good neighbor or friend. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

So how does God plan to repay when He says that vengeance is mine? If we remain true to the passage we will begin to see that the very same kindness that draws us to repentance is the same kindness that will cause supreme torture to those who refuse to be saved by it. This is how good will triumph over evil – not by engaging in evil temporarily to angrily torture enemies in flames of fire until wrath is satisfied, but by revealing so much righteousness, love, kindness and purity of heart that the atmosphere becomes suffocating to evil and all those clinging to it in their hearts.

Overcoming is never accomplished through the use of any degree of evil, contrary to the way we have been wired to believe. Evil can only be overcome with good and good alone, undiluted with any tinge of hatred, selfishness, pride or any other characteristic developed by Satan. (see Revelation 14:10) The great battle between Christ and Satan, between good and evil, between righteousness and wickedness, will at last be resolved when, in perfect freedom and without any coercion, every intelligent being in all the universe on all sides of the issue acknowledge openly and willingly that God is not at fault in any way for all of the tragic effects of sin. God's reputation will be cleared in a fair hearing where all the motives and attitudes and lies and every secret thing will be brought into the blazing light of reality. Evil will not overcome, in spite of all its deceptions, illusions and promises. Good will overcome evil by simply revealing itself as the only workable way to live and thrive and harmonize for all of eternity.

And that is how we are to live right now – today. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

(next in series)

Peace, not Vengeance

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. (Romans 12:17-18)

Throughout this passage I notice that there are a lot of opposites and contrasts. I also see a progression of intensity or a sharpening of focus on unselfishness and personal restraint. By the time I get to this section of verses the phrases are started out with the word never, which is a very strong and unequivocal word. Never pay back evil for evil – never take your own revenge.

I also notice that these verses are prepping us for what is coming in the next chapter which is how we are to relate to artificial social structures outside of the body of Christ. We cannot rightly determine how to relate to outside governing authority if we have not first been transformed deep in the heart as described in this chapter. Whenever chapter 13 is emphasized without the context of chapter 12 as a prerequisite the results are always external-based and will be mis-guided. But I will leave that discussion for later.

I will note however, that this verse about not paying back evil for evil directly parallels verse four in the next chapter, if you do what is evil, be afraid. There is strong incentive for not harboring resentful, bitter roots in the heart that will cause one to retaliate with evil whenever others commit evil against us. It may feel very right and justifiable in the moment but it will dishonor Christ just as Moses dishonored God by striking the rock in anger. What Moses did, though very wrong, was not viewed with as much concern by God as the spirit he portrayed while representing God. (Unfortunately, too many of us would have been inclined to exercise the rod on the people instead of just on the rock!)

If possible... This is a strong indication that being at peace with all men is not always possible. This is very clear in the life of Jesus who said He did not come to bring peace but a sword. However, it is all too easy to allow our enthusiasm for “truth” to ignore this admonition in our eagerness to wield a sword in the name of Jesus. But as Peter found out to his great embarrassment, the kind of sword we want to use is completely opposite to the type of sword Jesus had in mind.

The clear focus here is on avoiding conflict as far as our own abilities and actions are concerned. There is far too much unnecessary conflict between Christians and with others that is quite avoidable if far more attention were being paid to the condition of our spirit instead of our determination to be “right” at all costs. It may feel very righteous to think we are “right” on a topic or in a situation but in heaven's eyes reality looks dramatically different most of the time. For from heaven's viewpoint the condition and effects of our spirit is by far the more important aspect of our lives and the outward experiences are more the results of that spirit.

Our beliefs and doctrines are very important, but for very different reasons than we usually think. For many of us, we think that knowing the correct doctrines and tenets of religion are more important to God and to our salvation than the way we treat others who disagree with us or may be opposed to us. But this attitude is a most dangerous and highly deceptive state of mind. Doctrines are like bones inside of our body. They give strength, shape and anchor points and define to a great extent what we look like on the outside. But when we think that bones and doctrines are more important than anything else it is like dangling a skeleton out in public and declaring it to be the ultimate creation of God.

Skeletons are well known to be objects designed to create fear, not attraction. Halloween, one of the greatest holidays celebrating demonic-type activities and things related to death, commonly uses skeletons as symbols of adornment. Some Christians rightly abhor such blatant advertisements for Satan's kingdom but think nothing of ignoring their abrasive spirit while trying to impose their doctrines and preferences on anyone within reach. Skeletons seldom attract people to love the person who's bones are being displayed. And arguing about doctrines does little to attract people to love God from their heart.

But on the other hand, having the correct understanding of God's principles and ways are very effective in giving us anchor points that will keep us stable as we focus our hearts on cultivating a right spirit in our relationships with others. We need to have our minds filled with the truths from the Word of God if we ever expect to be able to live the kind of life described in these chapters. But even more importantly we must have our spirit submitted to and influenced by the sweet Spirit of Jesus who demonstrated perfectly how these instructions will affect a life wholly synchronized with the heart and mind of God.

Jesus demonstrated how to live at peace with all men to the greatest degree possible as far as it was up to Him. There were times when He would leave a town and go elsewhere because He was not very welcome there. He could have stayed and argued for God's ways and tried to convince people to change their minds, but He was more alert to the condition of His spirit than He was concerned for defending His own interests. He lived a live of totally selfless dedication to the reputation of God with no thought for His own reputation as an example of how we can live successfully like Him.

The following verses about not taking revenge but leaving things totally in the hands of God is an amplification of these present verses. This is because human ideas and urges involving revenge are always contaminated with sinful desires and bitterness and will always misrepresent the true character of God. As I have been reworking and adding to another web site for the past several days dedicated totally to understanding the true character of God in relation to the concepts of wrath, fire and the truth about hell, I have become even more aware of my need to pay careful attention to my spirit and be in perfect alignment with God's heart.

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD." (Romans 12:19-20)

God's version of wrath is so radically and surprisingly different than anything we have ever imagined that God tells us not to even try to do it ourselves. He instructs us to just leave it up to Him because He is the only one big enough to have the right spirit of mind and heart to do it correctly. But in fact, in doing that, in leaving it up to Him and letting go of our intense craving to get even with others, we are actually being molded into His image, being transformed into His likeness and are in fact, beginning to participate in His way of “doing wrath”.

Amazingly verse 20 is in fact, a description of God's wrath. It is one of the clearest texts in the whole Bible on the subject of God's wrath and if it was viewed as such would radically shake up the whole Christian world. For God is love and always will be love. God never runs out of patience, gets mad (the way humans get mad) and strikes out to hurt people from anger. God is not manipulated by triggers inside that cause Him to get defensive like we do, and His throne is not threatened by any of our nonsense or attacks on Him.

Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father and if we want to know the truth about God's anger and wrath we must carefully analyze not only the actions but the spirit displayed by Jesus when under attack. Look carefully at all the times Jesus might have been tempted to take revenge and notice how often His disciples were eager to help Him do it. But the only times the Bible notes that Jesus got angry, His resulting actions emerging from that anger were acts of healing. Maybe that is why it is so important for us to leave vengeance up to God.

(next in series)

Synchronizing Without Pride

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. (Romans 12:15-18)

Last time I touched on the fact that the right brain learns how to return to its natural state of joy/peace by someone synchronizing emotionally with it and then demonstrating how to do it. The right brain learns primarily by imitation and so it is important to have others involved in our lives who care about us that we can imitate. The body of Christ is made up of people who are desiring to imitate Jesus in their spirit and actions and relationships and are being used by Him in turn to be mentors that can be imitated by those He puts into their sphere of love and influence. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another.

What I also see in this passage is a caveat to being of the same mind with others. While it is important for mentoring to synchronize emotions with one who is less mature in order to help them learn how to respond and act like themselves, we are not to extend that concept to reflecting negative emotions and attitudes with people who are mistreating us. There is a big difference between emotional synchronization for mentoring purposes and indulging in the temptation to react in kind when we are confronted with a wrong spirit.

I have observed over the past few years that it seems like the essence of temptation is to take on or react with the same kind of spirit with which we are confronted. This is probably due to the natural tendency of the mind to want to synchronize with others that is part of God's design for us. But with sin in the picture it is no longer safe or right to synchronize with others all of the time when it means getting out of sync with our Creator's Spirit. Thus the warning here to not return evil for evil.

It is the natural urging of our fallen nature to want to get even, to become defensive and to not allow others to hurt us. Our flesh is very much into protecting ourselves from pain, shame and blame. But the way we naturally want to do that is always going to be at the expense of others because of our deep-rooted selfishness. We will often have very plausible and even religious-sounding excuses to justify our self-protection and desires to reflect back what others are doing to us, but it never makes it right. We may be able to restrain or restrict the degree to which we act out our desires for returning evil, but in God's eyes our real condition (not our identity) is the motives of our heart, not just the outward actions that can be seen by others. If we allow desires to remain in our hearts or imaginations for others to experience evil who have done evil to us, we are secretly giving a place to the enemy, a handle that he can use at most unexpected times to expose us, a point of vulnerability for the enemy to defeat us. There are no exceptions to this principle, not even at the deepest hidden levels of our heart. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone, not even secretly in our hearts.

The next part of this instruction can be a little confusing. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. I have looked at this verse in several translations but it comes up with the same ambiguity in every one I have looked at. This phrase can be taken in two different ways. My question is about which side of the sentence defines the meaning of right in the center. Does this mean that we are to respect right independently of what others think is right, but publicly so that it is obvious to everyone, or does it mean that we are to respect what it considered right in the opinion of those around us? I think I would lean toward believing that the first assumption is the correct one, but as I said that does not come clearly through the way this is worded.

I also wonder why this comes directly after the instruction about not returning evil for evil. I suspect there is an important relationship here and that they did not just happen to be back to back. But right now I don't see a real clear connection. I want to think about this some more.

The last part of this passage is clearly connected to respecting what is right. While we are to give preference to living at peace with all men, that will not always be possible while at the same time respecting what is right. Clearly there are going to be times when publicly taking a stand for what is right is going to put us at odds and out of peace with all men. But I think the main point of this is the other aspect to this instruction. That is, we should not ignore being at peace with others while taking pride in asserting our independence from them by trying to be different with no regard for peace and harmony around us.

I am quite familiar with this sort of personality. Some people think it is something of a trademark to be different than those around them. They take pride in not fitting in or in feeling that their differences from others somehow make them more important or more religious. They sometimes mistake stubbornness as conscientiousness and have little regard for living at peace with others. While there will be times when standing for right will put us at serious odds with others, it is not necessary to be at odds just to be unique. Being different is not equivalent to being righteous though at times some people believe that.

The core problem that must be faced in each of these things is our problem of pride. This is addressed head-on in the center of this section, do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. This is the basic problem that interferes with aligning our lives with each of these instructions. And it must always be viewed within the context of verse two – the transformation of our lives through the renewing of our minds. This transformation involves the removal of the pride that infects every area of our mind and heart. Pride is the greatest obstacle to the work of God in our lives and is the greatest threat to our peace and joy.

Pride will prevent us from genuinely rejoicing with others who rejoice because we cannot selflessly synchronize our hearts with them. Instead we will secretly harbor jealousy in our hearts. Pride will prevent us from weeping with those who weep because we will be afraid of shame or of being vulnerable or of becoming entangled with their problems without being in control. Pride will cause us to react with less than noble feelings whenever we are faced with evil, pain and intimidation. It will become our liability that can threaten to undo what the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish in our transformation. Pride will cause us to have little consideration for living at peace with others. Pride will even sometimes cause us to try to hide our decisions to stand for what is right in fear of what others may think about us.

The words in Greek translated into haughty in mind mean to not entertain a sentiment of a high opinion about yourself. It really strikes at the root of one of the three foundations of civilization that I have learned about, Kingship. This is the stratification of social value that we assign to ourselves and others based on comparison with others or arbitrary determinations. It is so much a part of our world and our thinking that we seldom even think about it consciously, but it undermines the body of Christ in which there is no place for differences in value. It is in direct opposition to the instruction to be of the same mind toward one another. In order for us to willingly associate with the lowly we must become freed from the pride that has artificially segregated people and caused us to view others as more or less valuable than ourselves.

This is very significant in the context of the gifts just listed in the body. It is far too easy to begin to evaluate others according to false estimations of the importance of different gifts and the people who exercise them. We may give lip service to the equal value of each person but in our interactions we betray the influence within our hearts of the spirit of the world, the separations created by artificial distinctions. We must constantly guard against allowing the influence of the world's way of thinking to infiltrate the new order of life within the true body of believers. We serve a different God with radically different tools of measurement. Be of the same mind toward one another.

Do not be wise in your own estimation is a restatement of our need to avoid being haughty in mind. This is such a deep-rooted problem that it is necessary to repeat it again in different words. This kind of pride is possibly the greatest danger to the success of the unity of the body as God works to bring us into harmony, love and humility. It is only as we become willing to lay aside our pride and recognize the enormous danger that pride poses to our spiritual life that we will be able to grow, to mature and to become more closely bonded and integrated within the body of fellow believers.

I have taken time to try to unpack mentally what these verses are saying to me here. But I also realize that I have barely touched the need for the truths of these words to sink deep into my own heart and thinking. That is not something that just happens by intellectually dissecting a passage but has to be impressed at a much deeper level by the Holy Spirit who knows how to get it to where it is needed. I desire for Him to do that in my life, to transform me into a person without pride, fear or shame. I want to be a person who is not hesitant to associate with those who are considered lowly by the world, for in God's eyes there is really no such thing as lowly. Everyone is of infinite worth so how can we say someone is lowly with the normal assumptions associated with that word? If lowly means of less value, then it is our system of measurement that seriously needs replacing.

I need to take some intense quiet time focusing with my heart on these insights and listening to the impressions of the Spirit. Otherwise all the expounding and wisdom and explanations become nothing but a sounding gong or a tinkling cymbal. There is a time to carefully analyze and there is also the need to take time to absorb and meditate.

God, please send the Holy Spirit to take these words, these messages, these crucial truths deep into the dark places in my heart where pride still clings tenaciously. Turn up the light in my soul and reveal the lies that I still believe about myself and others that prevent me from freely associating with some of the members of Your family. Give me the eyes of heaven, not only for others but for myself and help me to see the true ugliness of the pride that still prevents me from reflecting Your beauty, kindness and attractiveness in my life.

Continue Your work of mind renewal and transformation in my life. I trust in Your faithfulness, Your grace, Your patience and Your ability to accomplish everything You have promised to do. Cleanse me from every attitude, belief and confused idea that distorts Your image in my heart. Fill me with Your Spirit and make me a conductor of Your grace to others.

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